A reading list for the IES (Indian Economic Service) Exam

This post if for all those appearing or planning to appear for the Indian Economic Service exam. I gave the exam in 2012 (my second attempt) and was placed 7th.

There are a total of 6 papers in this examination. Here, I have given readings only for General Economics I, II and III.

The books referred to in this reading list are the following:

1. Pindyck and Rubinfeld - Microeconomics, 3rd edition
2. Dornbusch and Fischer - Macroeconomics, 6th edition
3. J.R. Gupta - Public Economics in India, Theory and Practice
4. Chiang and Wainwright, 4th edition - Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics 
5. S.C. Gupta - Fundamentals of Statistics (I think there is only 1 edition)
6. Debraj Ray - Development Economics (only one edition)

Please keep the following in mind while using these readings:

1. Most of the readings are from the web. A lot of them are from wikipedia and other non-scholarly sources. They are not substitutes for readings from economics textbooks. These readings should be used to brush up old concepts, if you find looking up old textbooks a bit tedious.
2. Scores in the General English and General Studies papers are important too. Ignore these papers at your own risk.
3. I have not included any readings for the Indian Economics paper. Two good books for this paper are The Concise Oxford Companion to Economics in India by Basu and Maertens and Indian Economy Since Independence by Uma Kapila. There's a newer edition of the book by Kapila in the market but I have not read it.

A strong word of caution: Whenever you are unsure about something, please go back to your grad/post-grad textbooks. The internet is a very convenient source, but not the most reliable.

As an afterthought, let me also mention the questions that were put to me by the interview panel:

1. What is REER? On how many currencies is it based?
2. Applications of Linear Programming? Leontiev input-output model?
3. How would I estimate a demand curve for milk using time series data? What would be its shape and why?
4. Limitations of time series data? Difference between technical and fundamental analysis?
5. Cost benefit analysis and its applications?

Here are the readings, hope these help!

General References

The following will be helpful in finding definitions and short introductions to concepts:

http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z

http://www.econlib.org/index.html

http://lexicon.ft.com/

http://www.unc.edu/depts/econ/byrns_web/Economicae/EconomicaeA.htm
http://www.arthapedia.in/index.php?title=Home_Page

Paper I

1. Theory of Consumer Demand

Relevant chapters in Rubinfeld and Pindyck

2. Theory of Production

Factors of Production and Production Functions, Forms of Production Functions: Cobb Douglas, CES and Fixed Coefficient Type, Translog Production Functions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobb%E2%80%93Douglas_production_function

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elasticity_of_substitution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant_elasticity_of_substitution

http://what-when-how.com/social-sciences/fixed-coefficients-production-function-social-science/

Measures of productive efficiency of firms, technical and allocative efficiency

http://www.unc.edu/depts/econ/byrns_web/Economicae/econeff.html

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Productivity.html

http://www.people.hbs.edu/dcomin/def.pdf

Partial Equilibrium vs General Equilibrium Approach

http://pages.usherbrooke.ca/mtrandafir/teaching/econ306/Chapter_12_6spp.pdf

Pindyck and Rubinfeld, Chapter 16

http://www.stanford.edu/~jdlevin/Econ%20202/General%20Equilibrium.pdf (Very detailed document, need not study whole)

Equilibrium of the firm and industry

http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/subjects/eco/chap10/e1010401.asp

http://www.tutorsonnet.com/homework_help/micro_economics/product_pricing/equilibrium_of_firm_and_industry_under_perfect_competition_assignment_help_online_tutoring.htm

http://www.tutorsonnet.com/homework_help/micro_economics/product_pricing/long_run_equilibrium_of_firm_and_industry_assignment_help_online_tutoring.htm

Duality and Cost Function

???

3. Theory of Value

Pricing under different market structures, peak load pricing

Pindyck & Rubinfeld, Chapter 11, Pricing with Market Power

Pindyck & Rubinfeld, Chapter 12, Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly

Pricing with incomplete information and moral hazard problems

Pindyck and Rubinfeld, Chapter 17, Markets with asymmetric information

Public Sector Pricing

J.R. Gupta, Appendix 1, Pricing of Public Services and Return on Investment

Cross Subsidy Free Pricing: Average Cost and Marginal Cost Pricing

http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fciteseerx.ist.psu.edu%2Fviewdoc%2Fdownload%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.194.6860%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf&ei=NoasULW2N8TtrQe35oHwCA&usg=AFQjCNGYS0em0a29HXL3FHYC0dPTDUmemw&sig2=Hk4u-vN7xQJvTygOoA1_xw

Marshallian and Walrasian Stability Analysis

http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/eserv.php?pid=UQ:10462&dsID=econ_dp_254_99.pdf (pp 7-10)

4. Theory of Distribution

Neo Classical Distribution Theories; Marginal Productivity Theory of Distribution of Factor Prices, Factor Shares and Adding Up Problems, Euler’s Theorem

http://www.biu.ac.il/soc/ec/students/teach/814/data/t12.doc

Pricing of factors under imperfect competition, monopoly and bilateral monopoly

http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/21?e=rittenberg-ch14#rittenberg-ch14

Macro Distribution Theories of Ricardo, Marx, Kaldor, Kalecki

http://myweb.liu.edu/~uroy/eco54/histlist/hist07.htm#distribution (Ricardo)

http://laprimaradice.myblog.it/media/01/01/2490961526.pdf (Marx)

http://www.redeco.economia.unam.mx/Redeco/Pdf/bibliografia/Akach3F.pdf (Kalecki)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_distribution (Pareto)

 ??? (Kaldor)

5. Welfare Economics

http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/n.j.devlin/weslides&notes.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_approach (Amartya Sen)

6. Mathematics

Any good book like Chiang

7. Statistics

Any good book like SC Gupta

Paper II

1. Economic Thought

Mercantilism

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html

http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/m#node-21529852

Physiocrats

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Quesnay.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physiocracy

Classical

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Smith.html

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Ricardo.html

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Say.html

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Malthus.html

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Mill.html

Marxism

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Marxism.html

http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/m#node-21529850

Neo Classical

http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/n#node-21529645

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/NeoclassicalEconomics.html

Keynes

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Keynes.html

http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/k

Monetarism

http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/m#node-21529789

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Monetarism.html

2. Concept of National Income and Social Accounting

Measurement of national income, interrelationships between three measures of national income in the presence of the government sector and international transactions.

NCERT Class XII Macroeconomics textbook, Chapter 2 - National Income Accounting

Environmental Considerations, Green National Income

See readings for Paper III, Section 2

3. Theory of Employment, Output, Inflation, Money and Finance

The Classical and Keynesian Theories

http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/subjects/eco/chap5/e0505101.asp

Relevant chapters in Dornbusch

Inflationary Gap

http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=inflationary+gap

http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=inflationary+gap,+Keynesian+model

Demand Pull and Cost Push Inflation

http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=cost-push%20inflation

http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=demand-pull%20inflation

Phillips Curve and Policy Implications

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PhillipsCurve.html

Classical Thoery of Money

http://www.unc.edu/depts/econ/byrns_web/Economicae/classicmonetary.html

Quantity Thoery, Friendman’s Restatement     

http://www.oswego.edu/~edunne/340chapter21.html

4. Financial and Capital Markets

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/FuturesandOptionsMarkets.html

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/EfficientCapitalMarkets.html

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/CapitalFlight.html

5. Economic Growth and Development

Neo Classical Approach: Robinson, Solow, Harrod Domar Kaldor

http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ302/alexander/Spring2006/SOLOW/SOLOWGROWTHMODEL.htm

http://www.pauldeng.com/teaching/development/lectnotes_4_econ175a.pdf

http://www.pauldeng.com/teaching/development/lectnotes_5_econ175a.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaldor's_growth_laws

http://www.preservearticles.com/2012042631194/what-is-joan-robinsons-model-of-economic-growth.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaldor's_facts
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Harrod.html

Theories of Economic Development

http://www.isid.ac.in/~tridip/Teaching/DevEco/LectureNotes/01Introduction.pdf (General)

http://www.isid.ac.in/~tridip/Teaching/DevEco/LectureNotes/03Nonconvergence-Introduction.pdf (General)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostow's_stages_of_growth (Rostow)

http://www.rrojasdatabank.info/pioneers8a.pdf (Rosentein - Rodan, pp6-8)

http://www.slideshare.net/DHATTALUCK/developmentalist-theories-of-economic-development#btnNext (Rosenstein-Roden, Nurske, Hirschman)

http://nthur.lib.nthu.edu.tw/bitstream/987654321/63801/1/JA01_1963_p87.pdf (Leibenstein, first 6 pages)

http://www.neweconomia.com/economic%20development/eddependency.html (Amin and Frank, Dependency School)

Debraj Ray, Development Economics, Chapter 10 (Section on Lewis Model)

Utilitarian and Welfarist approach to social development and Sen’s Critique, Capability Approach

http://www.princeton.edu/~reinhard/pdfs/100-NEXT_HOW_ECONOMISTS_BASTARDIZED_BENTHAMITE_UTILITARIANISM.pdf

http://www.iep.utm.edu/sen-cap/

Human Development Index, Physical Quality of Life Index and Human Poverty Index

http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/hdi/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Quality_of_Life_Index

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Op-Eds/Morris.html

http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/indices/hpi/

6. International Economics

Gains from International Trade:

http://www.preservearticles.com/2012012721662/what-are-the-gains-of-international-trade.html

Terms of Trade:

http://what-when-how.com/social-sciences/terms-of-trade-social-science/

Policy:

International Trade and Economic Development:

Theories of International Trade: Ricardo, Haberler, Hekscher-Ohlin and Stopler-Samuelson

http://www.fperri.net/teaching/undergrad/macropolicy/LEC9.pdf

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gottfried_Haberler

http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~cdippel/LNHOV.pdf (the first few slides)

http://www.aaec.ttu.edu/faculty/mihudson/Spring2012/Heckscher-Ohlin-Model.pdf

http://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/members/peter.neary/papers/pdf/stolpers.pdf

Theory of Tariffs:

http://goo.gl/uHqYo

Regional Trade Agreements:

http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/bey1_e.htm

http://www.voxeu.org/article/regional-trade-agreements-blessing-or-burden

7. Balance of Payments

Foreign Trade Multiplier

http://www.mu.ac.in/myweb_test/M.Com.%20Study%20Material/M.Com.%20-%20I%20-%20Eco.%20of%20Global%20Trade%20&%20Finance.pdf (First 8 pages)

Multiple Exchange Rates

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/03/022603.asp#axzz2DVqenXrl

8. Global Institutions

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTABOUTUS/0,,contentMDK:20103838~menuPK:1696997~pagePK:51123644~piPK:329829~theSitePK:29708,00.html

http://www.imf.org/external/about/whatwedo.htm

http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact1_e.htm

Jagish Bhagwati, In Defense of Globalization, Chapter on MNCs

Paper III

1. Public Finance

Theory of taxation, optimal taxes and tax reforms, incidence of taxations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_taxation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimal_tax

http://www.amosweb.com/cgi-bin/awb_nav.pl?s=wpd&c=dsp&k=tax%20incidence

http://www.undp.org.ar/docs/taller_ecosistemico/2_7.pdf

Theories of Public Expenditure, objectives and effects of public expenditure, policy and social cost beneit analysis, criteria of public investment decisions and social rate of discount:

Chapter 4, J.R. Gupta

Shadow prices of investment, labor and foreign exchange:

http://www.stanford.edu/group/FRI/indonesia/documents/gittinger/Output/chap7.html (first few paragraphs)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_price

Budgetary deficits

http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Publications/PDFs/78936.pdf

Theory of Public Debt Management

J.R. Gupta, Chapter 6

2. Environmental Economics

Green GDP:

http://moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/Way%20to%20Green%20GDP.pdf

UN Methodology of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accouting:

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/seea2003.pdf (Chapter 1 only)

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/envaccounting/Brochure.pdf

Kyoto Protocol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

Tradable Permits and Carbon Taxes

http://classwebs.spea.indiana.edu/kenricha/Policy_Implementation/tradable_permits.htm

http://www.env-econ.net/an_emissions_tax.html

http://www.env-econ.net/carbon_tax_vs_capandtrade.html

Environmental Values: User and Non-User Value, Option Value, Valuation Methods, Stated and Revealed Preference Methods

http://www.ecosystemvaluation.org/essentials.htm

http://www.env-econ.net/econ_101_benefitcost_anal.html

Theories of exhaustible and renewable resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelling_rule

Collective Action

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common-pool_resource

4. State, Market and Planning

Uma Kapila, Indian Economy Since Independence, Chapter 2

planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/speech/spemsa/dchplan.doc (Indicative planning)

http://persmin.gov.in/otraining/UNDPProject/undp_modules/Decentralized%20Planning%20(DLM).pdf (First two units only)